Looking to bounce back and even this three-game set, the New York Yankees will send their ace to the hill.

  • New York Yankees (40-42)
  • Chicago White Sox (43-40)
  • American League, 8:10 pm ET, YES Network
  • U.S. Cellular Field, Chicago, IL
Following a sloppy loss in the series opener on Independence Day, the New York Yankees will try to get back on track and keep this 10-game road trip from getting out of hand.

Currently sitting at 1-3 after dropping a series in San Diego and receiving a subpar outing from CC Sabathia yesterday, they will lean on Masahiro Tanaka to right the ship.

Amidst recent remarks from general manager Brian Cashman, it appears as if the window is closing on an ‘all-in’ mentality for 2016. If the club does not pick up the pace, and pick it up in a hurry, there is a large chance that the front office declares the Yankees sellers to rival executives as the trade deadline nears.

Openly admitting that the organization will listen to “everything and anything”, a nice six-game stretch heading into the all-star break can easily turn the Yanks back into contenders and, therefore, buyers.

The current state of the team leaves the guys up the food chain in an extreme gray area. Tonight will be a large telling factor as they can either win and go for a series victory tomorrow, or lose a second consecutive series against a beatable opponent.

Pitching Matchup

If the Yankees are to even the series tonight, they will have the right man on the mound to do so. Furthermore, he is in the situation that suits him best.

Masahiro Tanaka (5-2, 3.35 ERA) will take the ball on the adequate five days of rest that he has shown a distinct ability to thrive with.

In six starts with five days of rest — one extra day — this year, the 27-year-old is 3-0 with a brilliant 1.24 ERA. Conversely, he pitches to a subpar 5.28 ERA in seven starts on normal rest (four days). He pitched poorly in his most recent outing, which came on normal rest, allowing six earned runs to the Texas Rangers over six frames.

Opposing the Yankee ace will be 23-year-old left-hander Carlos Rodon (2-6, 4.24 ERA). Despite possessing a plus arm that has earned him 88 strikeouts in 87 innings pitched, the 2014 first-round pick has been hit around all year long.

If it is not evident through his mediocre ERA, the .288 opponent batting average and 13 homers surrendered show that he is extremely hittable. However, Rodon can benefit from a Yankee lineup that has been susceptible to southpaws all year long.

In 26 games against lefties, the offense has only managed a .245/.301/.353 slash.

He is coming off a below average start against the Twins in which he allowed four earned runs in 5.2 innings pitched.

Lineups

With Carlos Beltran evidently healthy enough to play right field once again, Alex Rodriguez is back in the lineup as the designated hitter. A-Rod was out of the starting lineup in San Diego — national league park — this weekend, and was not pencilled in again yesterday with Beltran serving as the DH.

In addition, Jacoby Ellsbury is not in tonight’s lineup against a left-hander. In a small sample size, one game, against Rodon, he is 0-3 as compared to Brett Gardner’s 1-3.

Joe Girardi continues to run Aaron Hicks out there against lefties despite a dismal .164/.230/.239 slash when batting from the right side. It becomes difficult to understand the continued trust given that Ellsbury’s .239/.283/.359 mark against southpaws is subpar yet miles better than what Hicks has produced.

Roster Move

Right around when the lineup was released, the Yankees announced a roster move that will bring Chasen Shreve back to the bigs.

Through an injury and pure struggles in the beginning of the year, the lefty fell from an integral setup piece in the bullpen to a liability residing in the minors. However, in six games with Triple-A Scranton, the 25-year-old has pitched to a 2.70 ERA while striking out 11 over 6.2 innings pitched.

Luis Cessa, who allowed five hits and three runs in two poor innings of relief last night, was sent back down to RailRiders.


First pitch will commence at 8:10 pm ET from U.S. Cellular Field. The game can be seen on YES and heard on WFAN 660/101.9 FM.

NEXT: Brian Cashman “Open To Anything”